Struggling with the New Michael Barry

Here's part of an editorial by Matthew Pioro published in the December & January 2013 issue of CANADIAN Cycling Magazine.(Look for it in the newsstands soon!) In his editorial, Matthew certainly expresses the struggle that many of us, especially those who know Barry personally, are going through. Well done Matthew.(FG)

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….. I still have the old image of Michael Barry, the eloquent ambassador of cycling. He’s no less eloquent now, but his role as ambassador is tarnished. Most of his performances from 200 to 2006 have lines through them. Even the palmarés that remain from MIchael’s clean period following his departure from Discovery Channel come with asterisks for me: the physiological changes and advantages gained from doping can carry on even after a rider has quit. It’s a messy picture.

Michael has confessed and apologized for doping. He wants to do more for the sport. I support him in these endeavours and am looking forward to seeing how he works to bring about changes to cycling. But, I am conflicted. The way his story is often framed, as well as that of many of the other riders in the “Reasoned Decision,” is through a narrow focus: I cheated; I stopped; I’m sorry. But the actions of those riders had wider effects. Andrew Randell, another former Canadian pro, makes the point – which occasionally gets glossed over – that doping robbed clean riders of their careers in cycling.

I’m most troubled by the lying.It’s not the lying to cover up cheating. If you’re going to cheat, you have to say you didn’t But it’s the lying and standing by quietly as others became ostracized by the cycling community – think Floyd Landis and Betsy Andreu - that makes me angry. It’s one thing to ruin yourself. It’s another to take others down., even by your inaction. To Michael’s credit, he has acknowledged publicly that he probably owes Landis an apology.

…… Michael Barry’s story and those of Armstrong’s other former teammates, in all their newly revealed messiness, are still being written. I’m hoping they become clearer and cleaner.